No winner for the December 2016 Contest .

Unfortunately there was no winner in the December 2016 Contest. Here's what was shown.

Below is the answer.

WWE Mattel Natalya. Good luck to everyone for the January 2017 contest !!!

JANUARY 2017 CONTEST !!! WIN 10 DOLLARS !!!

Give the name of the character or figure. Plus the toy line. Contest expires February 28,2017. GOOD LUCK TO EVERYONE!!!

WWE MATTEL - The Hart Foundation Review !!!

Bret "the Hitman" Hart along with Jim "the Anvil" Neidhart , together along with their former manager Jimmy " Mouth of the South" Hart are known as The Hart Foundation . However all three of these guys are sold separately . This review on the other hand is about Bret and Jim . Jimmy Hart was reviewed earlier in 2016 . If you missed the review of Jimmy Hart you can go here http://actionfigureimagerytoyreviews.blogspot.com/2016/04/wwe-elite-hall-of-fame-2005-jimmy-mouth.html . I purchased the figures of both Bret and Jim at a local Walgreens for around the price of $19.99 for each one. Since Bret Hart is the most popular of the two and most well known, I will review his action figure first, then on to Jim Neidhart .

There are previous versions of Bret Hart that were released when he was a singles/individual wrestler. This is the first figure of him as a tag team wrestler. Now for a look at the figure out of the packaging .

The only thing that I do not like about this Bret Hart figure is the facial sculpt. It is because I feel that it does not look very much like him. I prefer the head sculpts of the previous WWE Mattel Bret figures than I do this one because they actually look more like the real man. I think this figure resembles Bret a little, but not a lot. Plus I'm not a fan of the smile, as I do not remember seeing Bret smile a lot. I think he should have came with the facial expression that is on the packaging. Other than this one gripe, he is EXCELLENT as in the " EXCELLENCE OF EXECUTION ", his main catch phrase as a singles wrestler . Bret's hand poses fit in well with his fighting/wrestling style, with the right hand being an open palm fist and the left being a closed fist . Since he was somewhat of a combination of a brawler mixed in with a technical collegiate style of wrestling. I love the knee and elbow pads, I'm glad that they are rubbery and can be moved or cut off if you wish.That's better than them being painted on . The sunglasses that come with Bret do not fit real well on his face. They're almost too big and may fall of sometimes. This does not bother me however because I am use to seeing Bret more without shades than with them. Speaking of accessories, the only other accessory is a tag team championship belt. By the way, both Bret and Jim come with the same belt , so an up close pic of one of the belts is only shown once. 

As always with these figures, the championship belts are gorgeous, looking like an exact copy of the real thing . Plus they shine well in bright light, just like the real belts also . Now for a look at Bret to see if his finishing maneuver ," the Sharpshooter ", can be pulled off.

After several attempts at trying to successfully achieve the "sharp shooter" pose, it is nearly an impossible move to accomplish with the WWE Mattel figures. The sitting position is easy to do, but wrapping the arms around the victim's ankles is tough to do. The victim by the way being Doink the Clown . If Bret's arms or Doink's legs could be contorted just a little more, the move could probably be successfully pulled off. I guess the above pictures could indicate that Bret is " ATTEMPTING " the sharpshooter on Doink, but not actually performing the actual finishing move. At least an attempting look at the maneuver works. Now for a look at the Jim"the Anvil" Neidhart figure.

As you can see this is Jim"the Anvil" Neidhart's "First time in the Line".  Also as you can see that both him and Bret are on each other's packaging, letting collectors know that they are meant to be together as a tag team . Now for a look at the figure out of the packaging . 

As you can see, like Bret , Jim comes with two accessories. A tag team championship belt and a pair of sunglasses. Unlike Bret though, Jim's shades fit perfectly onto his face, not sliding or slipping off. Plus his shades are smaller than Bret's . The shades are not the same but the belts are. Also I think I like the Jim Neidhart figure better than I do the Bret figure. The reason why is that I can find no flaws with the Neidhart figure. Bret on the other hand the facial sculpt and expression are the only flaws for that particular figure. Plus Jim is unique in his own way, in that no one has a sharp pointy beard like that except him. Plus his chest hair is done nicely, along with his cool looking crew cut hair cut . Now let's see if Neidhart's finishing maneuver can be successfully pulled off.

Jim Neidhart's finishing maneuver is more of a modified body slam called "The Anvil Flattener". The name of this move makes since because at the end of the move Jim ends up on top of his opponent after they are slammed to the mat . So Jim's finisher is more easier to display than Bret's . Now for a look at both of these guys pictured with their former manager, Jimmy Hart . 

Above, a look at all three original members of the Hart Foundation pictured together. Now for a side by side comparison look at the two wrestlers, Bret and Jim . 

Looking at both of these guys pictured together, it may seem there are more differences than similarities. I'm not just talking about their faces either, but their attire. Even though they both have the same cool looking blend of black and pink, the tank tops are the same but the tights are somewhat different along with the boots. Bret has knee and shoulder pads whereas Jim does not. However the main thing that they both have in common is that they are champions, literally, with those fantastic looking championship belts.

FINAL  THOUGHTS

(1) ARTICULATION - Both Bret and Jim come with the regular standard articulation that all WWE Mattel figures possess .

(2) STANDING  ABILITY - Both guys stand well with no balance issues.

(3) WHAT  I  LIKE  BEST  ABOUT  THESE  FIGURES ? - BRET - The luxury of finally having my first and only Bret Hart action figure in the collection, however this is not my favorite version of the WWE Mattel Brets he will do for now. Also love the fact that he has both a closed fist for one hand and and opened palm fist for the other. JIM - The unique coolness of his beard and haircut . Plus his shades fit perfectly onto his face. TOGETHER it is a luxury to own figures of one of the best tag teams in WWE history. Plus I love how bright and vivid the pink colors are. 

(4) WHAT  I  LIKE  LEAST  ABOUT  THESE  FIGURES ? - The  only dislike is for Bret however it is a minor dislike not major. I do not think the face sculpt looks like Bret very much, plus I'm not use to Bret with a big smile. 

(5) WHAT  COULD  HAVE  BEEN  DONE  TO  IMPROVE  THE  FIGURES ? - Give Bret one of his older head sculpts from one of his previous figures. Jim is okay.

(6) GRADING  SCALE - BRET - a 9.5. The minus is for the head sculpt not looking too much like him as mentioned earlier . Still an overall cool figure. JIM - A Perfect 10. No flaws . 

(7) FINAL  ANALYSIS - It feels great to own figures of the Hart Foundation. However if you do not like the Hart Foundation you can still purchase them for the championship belts and put them around the waist of other wrestling figures. However I love both the belts and the figures. 

STAR WARS BLACK SERIES - C-3PO Review !!!

This current C-3PO figure is one of two of him released in the 6 inch scaled Star Wars Black line. The other one has a red arm, and the one I'm reviewing here has both of his default golden arms. The last digit in his name is the letter O by the way, and not the number zero just in case for those of you whom may have been wandering . I've been wanting a six inch figure of C-3PO ever since the six inch Star Wars Black line debuted , now he's finally here . I purchased this C-3PO figure at a local Walgreens, since after all he is considered to be a Walgreen's Exclusive , for around the $ 19.99 price range .

Notice that C-3PO, unlike most other Star Wars Black figures packaging , does not have a number on the sides of the packaging . I assume because this figure is considered to be an exclusive. CP has always been one of my favorite Star Wars characters because he along with his fellow droid buddy R2-D2 provide comedy relief .Now for a look at the figure out of the packaging.

One of the most surprising things I noticed when removing CP out of the packaging is how short he is . When I was a kid watching the original Star Wars films, he always seemed tall to me. But looking at this figure, if C-3PO was real he would probably be not much taller than five foot even . A few inches over five feet, say like 5"4 or 5"6 but nothing more, because as you can see this action figure just stand a little tad over five inches tall. I love how Hasbro stays true to the character's likeness, not just in looks but features too. Just like in the movies, CP can not bend his elbows. This is not a flaw as Hasbro is trying to stay true to the actual character, and does a good job of it. I love the gold metallic finish on CP, it's as if you are looking at real painted gold metal instead of gold plastic when viewing the figure from a distance. As always you can see the wires and circuitry under his armor.  I also love how his gold armored body shines under bright light, giving the illusion of real metal being shined upon , very cool looking . C-3PO as you can see comes with no accessories.

The two outside blasters on the outside of CP's knees can rotate at a 360 degree angle. I was surprised by this because I did not know that they could move until I attempted to rotate them. This is a nice feature, perfect for multiple display options. Below is a look at C-3PO compared to some other six inch scaled Star Wars Black figures.

As you can see the previous Droid figure known as K2-SO, which I last reviewed previously, towers over C-3PO . A side by side pic with his good buddy R2-D2 in the third comparison pic. The R2 figure debuted back in 2013, so his buddy C-3PO arrives three years later in 2016 . What a long wait for joining this duo together, but it was worth it. Finally , a shot of CP with some of the other older figures that debuted earlier in the line . Every figure that you see above has been reviewed on this site already. In case you missed those reviews, for Chewbacca click here - http://actionfigureimagerytoyreviews.blogspot.com/2014/10/star-wars-black-series-series-5.html .  For a look back at the Han Solo review, click here - http://actionfigureimagerytoyreviews.blogspot.com/2014/03/star-wars-black-series-2-han-solo.html . For the Slave version of Princess Leia click here - http://actionfigureimagerytoyreviews.blogspot.com/2014/02/star-wars-black-series-series-two.html . And finally for R2-D2 click here - http://actionfigureimagerytoyreviews.blogspot.com/2013/11/star-wars-black-series-one-r2-d2.html .
                                                             FINAL   THOUGHTS  

(1) ARTICULATION - Moving elbows are hindered on purpose because the actual character himself can not bend his elbows. The only other POA ( points of articulation ) that may seem somewhat limited is the downward head movement . However the rings around his neck is what hinders the movement, not the way the toy is made.

(2) STANDING  ABILITY - C3-PO stands really well with no balance issues. Since he's very flat footed that alone supports his stance.

(3) WHAT  I  LIKE  BEST  ABOUT  THIS  FIGURE ?- Finally having CP in the collection to display with his pal R2-D2 after all these years is a luxury. I love the shiny gold metallic finish plus gold is one of my favorite colors . I love how it shines in bright light like real metal.

(4) WHAT  I  LIKE  LEAST  ABOUT  THIS  FIGURE ? - There's nothing that I dislike about this figure.

(5) WHAT  COULD  HAVE  BEEN  DONE  TO  IMPROVE  THE  FIGURE ? - Nothing needs to be done he's perfect .

(6) GRADING  SCALE - A PERFECT 10. No flaws.

(7) FINAL  ANALYSIS - Us collectors have waited almost three full years for C3-PO's arrival in this line, so I was kind of surprised he was introduced so late into the line and not earlier, since he is one of the earliest Star Wars characters to be introduced in the franchise. But as that old saying goes" better late than never " .